B-CU president resigns

Dr. Trudie Kibbe Reed to resign after seven years at the helm

Dr. Trudie Kibbe Reed, 64, has resigned after serving as the president of Bethune-Cookman University for the past seven years. Reed will remain at the University during the transition until the Board of Trustees determines an official departure date. During her tenure, Reed helped the University launch its first masters degree program in transformative leadership, earn its highest enrollment in the schools history, graduate its largest class on record and improve its physical plant with the construction of several new buildings on campus. The endowment also increased from $28 million to $43 million today. However, Reed faced criticism for firing seven B-CU instructors back in 2009 that led to lawsuits filed against the University. Reed said her reasons for the terminations ranged from charges of sexual harassment of students to insufficient academic credentials to a necessity to reduce the size of the faculty for financial reasons, according to an October 2010 American Association of University Professors [AAUP] report. In addition, B-CU was placed on AAUPs list of censured administrations in June 2011, meaning conditions for academic freedom and tenure were unsatisfactory. Dr. Larry Handfield, the chairman of the University Board of Trustees, will end his term this summer. However, by his own account, I will continue to serve on the board for the next six years and do not plan to go anywhere. Handfield, a Miami native and longtime contributor to B-CU, says he will give a complete interview at a later date. By D. Kevin McNeir kmcneir@miamitimesonline.com